These Big Metal Band-Aids Let You Create Furniture on the Fly

There are seven variations of the patch, which come in straight strips and angled crosses. Image: Beza Projekt

The joints have five holes in each tip. Image: Beza Projekt

The Patch can be nailed to hold strips of wood together. Image: Beza Projekt

The designer says the joints should be used liberally, not just for functionality. Image: Beza Projekt

The red strips of aluminum become part of the aesthetic value of the furniture. Image: Beza Projekt

The Patch allows you to get creative with your furniture. Image: Beza Projekt

Joints are arguably the most important part of a piece of furniture. They are, after all, the reason your beloved Expedit shelving unit doesn’t just tumble to the ground. And yet, joints are often the least appreciated aspect of any design; most of the time, they’re hidden away, relegated to the status of an invisible support system. But what would it look like if nuts and bolts weren’t just a functional necessity? Probably something like Patch, a new type of joint that flaunts both its functional and aesthetic value.

>The fact that they happen to look like Band-Aids is not a coincidence.

“This is something we always missed in many design situations—the nice technical details that are designed and can be exposed,” says Anna Łoskiewicz, a designer at Polish design studio Beza Projekt. “You don't have to hide them; you can play with them.” Beza's bright red strips and crosses of aluminum look a lot like something you might find in a life-size version of an Erector Set, and they function much in the same way, connecting various materials together to build a structure.

The seven joints come in various angles with five holes at each of their tips, which allow for them to be easily nailed to various types of materials. The fact that they happen to look like Band-Aids is not a coincidence. “We were looking for a nice and familiar shape, and Band-Aids seemed ideal for that,” Łoskiewicz says. “It is a bit like if you were sticking together whatever you want.” Łoskiewicz explains that while the Patch can be applied in a more organized fashion, it sort of defeats the purpose of the object. “You don't have to use them straight, chaos is incorporated into the design,” she says. “The more patches you add, the better it looks.”

That might sound like a sales pitch, but it's really not, since the Patch is still in prototype phase. Łoskiewicz says she and her partner Zofia Strumiłło-Sukiennik would like to enhance the joint's role as a decorative detail by manufacturing them in more elegant colors like gold. They envision the Patch enabling bursts of creative energy that result in spontaneous construction projects.“We want to encourage people to compose their own structures,” she says. “But we are also considering preparing ready DIY sets, for table or shelves.”